Founders’ Letter: Welcome to Goodee

Dear friends,

Welcome to an entirely new destination. We’ve put a lot of time, thought and love into designing a special space to host you, so please, make yourself at home.

In 2017, we came off a successful 20 years developing Want Les Essentiels, a luxury fashion brand built on our most core values—universality, purpose and beauty. As we pondered our next journey, we found the confidence to return to our roots: a lifelong practice of seeking to do better while inspiring others to be their best. Our passion and ambition led us to a vision of a kinder, smarter, more beautiful world where caring for people and the planet comes first. As a black owned business, supporting and elevating the voices of diverse creators, thought-leaders and their impact was essential to this vision.

In a world with so much waste and overconsumption, systemic injustice and social disparity, we asked ourselves what truly needed to exist. To discover this raison d’être, we travelled throughout North America, Europe, Africa and beyond, meeting with and being inspired by artisans and visionaries. With each creator or product we discovered, there was a deeper story to unearth and a meaningful conversation to be had.

We began to imagine a world of slower living, where communities could consume responsibly-created products, connect with loved ones and find respite from the distractions of our modern world. As our vision came into focus, we began to see that the power of good design, paired with technology, could powerfully change the way we consume and connect with our surroundings and people.

The result is GOODEE, a leading curated, black owned, marketplace of the world’s most coveted and collectable products. Here you’ll find classic items, discover new brands, and gain inspiration from the stories and makers behind each unique item. Why the latter? Because we believe effective storytelling can open doors, minds and hearts—affecting the change and connection our world so desperately needs while flourishing the advancement of humankind.

When the world seems more aware and awake to the perils of systemic injustice and inequality, and environmental crisis, we stand ready & motivated to do our part and re-affirm our root commitment that at all times businesses (and people) have an ability and responsibility to act first and foremost as a force for good.

Being Jamaican-Canadian twins, we are natural-born collaborators and we can’t do this alone. We invite you to join us.

Welcome to GOODEE. Welcome home.

Byron and Dexter